BLUE GROWTH LEADERS ACADEMY 2024. Highlighting the connection to citizens and public engagement for sustainable port development
The port of Valencia challenged the participants of the EU-CONEXUS “Blue Growth Leaders Academy”
The second “Blue Growth Leaders Academy” culminated with a two-day in-person workshop hosted by the Catholic University of Valencia from July 9–10, 2024. It was organised by EU-CONEXUS, the European University for Smart Urban Coastal Development. About 20 participants from nine countries came together during this event, including professionals, members of the university community, and regional development representatives. The participants gathered to exchange best practices, establish synergies, and explore solutions for a more sustainable future. The highlight of the workshop was a challenge proposed by the Valencia Port Foundation and the Valencia Port Authority, partner companies of EU-CONEXUS. It invited the participants to propose solutions for building a better connection between the port and the citizens of the City of Valencia.
Following the kick-off of the “Blue Growth Leaders Academy” at the San Juan y San Vicente campus of the Catholic University of Valencia, participants joined an excursion to the port of Valencia, Spain’s leading port in terms of commercial traffic. Here, the Valencia Port Foundation and the Valencia Port Authority introduced the port and presented the impressive 2030 Net Zero Emissions Goals. Before commencing the tour of the port, the guests were presented with a group challenge: “How to improve, integrate and increase visibility and create a connection between the port and the city?”.
During day two, the international teams exchanged best practices from Athens, Limassol, Rostock and other port cities, and brainstormed solutions on how to increase citizen engagement for a more sustainable future. All presentations highlighted the importance of co-creation and engaging the public when finding sustainable solutions. A variety of public events, including food and music festivals, were proposed to create a connection between the often abstract port activities and the citizens of Valencia.
In addition, the participants shared their insights on how their sector benefits from international alliances, such as EU-CONEXUS:
“The session was a great opportunity for UCV, EU-CONEXUS and Autoridad Portuaria to cooperate and work towards achieving growth in the Blue Economy.” Maravillas Sanchez-Barcaztegui Alvarez, strategic innovation and control officer at Port Authority of Valencia
“I enjoyed the session! It was very inspiring once again!” Eleftherios Papakonstantinou, Head of Quality Control at Piraeus Port Authority
The “Blue Growth Academy” leaders, who received training in sustainability for ports and cities, were guided by Vaidas Levickis, programme director and partner for Human Resources and Organisational Development based in Lithuania. “Once again, we could see that creating change in the blue growth industry is a collaborative mission of transformational leaders who must excel in multidisciplinary problem solving to avoid falling into the trap of greenwashing,” he noted.
“Thank you for the pan-European expertise we assembled and made good use of.”
Michael Fengler, Head of the Regional Planning Association GREATER ROSTOCK
Blue Growth Leaders Academy is a EU-CONEXUS initiative that aims to transfer academic experiences and knowledge to companies and decision makers in ports and urban development industries. The goal of this “Academy of Leaders for Sustainable Growth” is to create change leaders for urban coastal sustainability with a focus on port areas and urban cities. In the second edition of this academy, 25 representatives of companies from the cities of the EU-CONEXUS alliance participated in training sessions alongside specialists from multiple industries under the umbrella of “blue economy,” including but not limited to aquaculture and fisheries, digitisation, green energy, smart cities, and sustainable tourism. It culminated with an in-person session, which took place in Valencia and allowed the participants to share their ideas for applying the learnings in practice.
